First-year Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn has won multiple national coach of the year awards after leading the Tigers to a berth in the BCS National Championship Game. / Brett Davis, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

To recap the 2013 regular season, USA TODAY Sports is counting down some of the year's memorable moments, significant stories, noteworthy trends, biggest surprises and biggest disappointments. Today, we look at the regular season's five biggest surprises â?? whether a team, a player or a coach.

1. Gus Malzahn

Let's remember that Malzahn was only two years removed from his previous stint at Auburn, meaning he had a built-in familiarity with the program and knowledge of the roster rarely shared among first-year coaches. At the same time, let's recall the shape of the program he inherited: Auburn was beaten and broken after going winless in SEC play last fall, so it wasn't simply a matter of Malzahn installing his offense and letting the Tigers loose. Instead, Malzahn had to both install his system while remaking a team's broken sense of confidence â?? with the latter the harder task. While most projected Auburn to return to bowl play, perhaps reaching eight wins during the regular season, no one could have predicted the Tigers to go 12-1 and reach the BCS National Championship Game.

2. USC's turnaround

They fell short of their ultimate goal â?? winning the Pac-12 South Division and reaching the Rose Bowl â?? but the Trojans' in-season turnaround was one of the most impressive in recent Football Bowl Subdivision history. Written off in late September, after a loss to Arizona State cost Lane Kiffin his job, USC rebounded to win six of eight under interim coach Ed Orgeron. That wasn't enough to lead to a permanent appointment, however: Orgeron was not hired as Kiffin's replacement, with USC instead opting for former Washington coach and USC assistatnt Steve Sarkisian. The way USC rebounded achieved two things for Orgeron: one, it removed some of the negativity stemming from his one coaching stop, a failed three-year stint at Mississippi; and two, it made him a bona fide candidate for an FBS opening in the near future.

3. Underdogs making noise

Baylor and Duke followed a Stanford-like path from nothingness to national relevance, with Baylor taking its first Big 12 title with an 11-1 finish and Duke cracking the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll on the road to the ACC Coastal Division title. Along with this pair, another handful of overlooked FBS programs had banner seasons. Ball State coach Pete Lembo led the Cardinals to 10 wins for the third time in program history. Missouri went from the SEC's forgotten team to the conference title game. Buffalo went 8-4, coming within a win of a spot in the MAC championship game. Also on the list: Rice, North Texas, Iowa, Minnesota and Tulane.

4. Central Florida

A funny thing happened on Louisville's road to the BCS: UCF. In their first â?? and last â?? year in an automatic-qualifying conference, the Knights beat Louisville and held on tight to reach the Fiesta Bowl. How did they do it? It wasn't easy, to be honest, and particularly down the stretch; UCF barely squeezed past Temple, Southern Methodist and South Florida to go 8-0 in American Athletic Conference play. But between the play of quarterback Blake Bortles and an underrated secondary, the Knights were able to make the most of their day in the BCS sun.

5. Chris Petersen left Boise State

By the time he finally left Boise, taking the job at Washington, Petersen had been connected to more major job openings than any coach this side of Nick Saban. So why did he leave now? The College Football Playoff played a role, as did the sense that UW provided one of the most successful coaches in college football history with a new, fresh challenge after eight years with the Broncos. There's also this: Washington has a stacked roster, remade facilities and a strong recruiting draw, three assets that could make Petersen's transition from Boise State to the Pac-12 a seamless one.